Washington -
The United States said Friday that it has not yet seen any proof to confirm a claim by the Islamic State group that a female American hostage has been killed in an air strike in Syria by a Jordanian plane.

Toukyo -
A poignant tweet by murdered journalist Kenji Goto on the virtue of being calm was spreading rapidly on social media Tuesday, days after he was apparently beheaded by Islamist militants."Close your eyes and remain patient.

Toukyo -
The apparent beheading of two Japanese hostages by Islamic State militants poses a stark diplomatic test for pacifist Japan, underscoring how Tokyo's image as a benign aid donor offers no immunity from violence, analysts say.

Toukyo -
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday denounced as "heinous and despicable" the apparent beheading of a second Japanese hostage by the Islamic State group, as global leaders denounced the jihadists.

Toukyo -
The Islamic State group claimed in a video that it has beheaded a second Japanese hostage, drawing international condemnation and outrage from a visibly upset Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who denounced it as a "heinous and despicable" act.

Toukyo -
Japan's deputy foreign minister has said negotiations with the Islamic State group threatening to execute a Jordanian pilot and a Japanese journalist have become "deadlocked", local media reported Saturday.

Amman -
Jordan offered Wednesday to exchange a female jihadist for a Jordanian pilot held by the Islamic State group, whose deadline for executing the airman and a Japanese journalist is thought to have passed.

Toukyo -
The parents of a Japanese journalist and a Jordanian airman held by Islamic State militants made last-ditch pleas for their lives as a deadline for an exchange with a jihadi bomber neared Wednesday.

Toukyo -
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday branded the murder of a Japanese hostage by Islamic State militants as "outrageous and unforgivable" and demanded the immediate release of a second captive, amid a tide of global revulsion.

Toukyo -
Japan on Saturday vowed to "never give up" its struggle to save two Japanese hostages held captive by Islamic State militants after the deadline to pay their ransom passed in agonising silence.

Toukyo -
The deadline set by Islamist militants threatening to kill two Japanese men unless they were given $200 million passed Friday, after one captive's mother made a desperate plea to save her son's life.

Cameroon said Wednesday its forces have freed a German hostage kidnapped six months ago in Nigeria by Boko Haram, as African leaders appealed to the United Nations for support in fighting the Islamist militants.

Toukyo -
Militants from the Islamic State group released a video Tuesday purporting to show two Japanese men they were holding. A masked jihadist demanded a $200 million ransom for their release.Here are brief profiles of the men.

Sydney -
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Tuesday warned of heightened "terrorist chatter" in the aftermath of the fatal Sydney cafe siege and said another attack was likely, as tearful mourners paid tribute to the victims.

Sydney -
Lawyers who defended the Sydney siege gunman on a string of charges and the magistrate who bailed him have received death threats, officials said Friday, amid growing anger that he was on the streets.

Sydney -
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Thursday admitted Sydney's cafe siege was "a horrific wake-up call" as details emerged of the final minutes of the standoff which left the gunman and two hostages dead.